Grave Yard Trains

"The air conditioning never worked. People rode between cars because it was the only way to stay cool. And there was a way higher crime rate in the subway back then than on the streets. Everyone knew it. You avoided falling asleep at all costs." -John Conn

Bronx-born John Conn began his career at age nineteen as a United States Marine Corps photographer. Following his service, he earned a BFA in photography from the School Of Visual Arts in New York City, where he graduated with honors.

His work has been published in Time/Life Books, The New York Sunday Times, and in magazines including Nikon World, Hasselblad, Rangefinder, Studio Photography, Shutterbug, LensWork, and Popular Photography.

In the late 1970s while working as a freelance photographer, he captured the powerful black and white subway images that have become his signature collection. The artistry and historical significance of this work has earned it a place in the permanent collection of the Museum Of The City Of New York.

Dig: John Conn Photography

All photographs by John Conn